BE Magazine - Volume 4, Issue 3 - (Page 64)

THE LAST WORD Bridging the Information/Infrastructure Gap Greg Bentley Bentley CEO portal accesses not only SUPERLOAD but also the Bentley ARPS system, ultimately to enable multistate permitting and routing. s TDV GmbH (May 2007): Headquartered E arlier this year, I gave a keynote presentation for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Ofﬁcials (AASHTO) at its annual Subcommittee on Information Systems conference. There I discussed the strategies that Bentley users are pursuing to gain the advantage of information ﬂowing digitally and directly from stage to stage of the lifecycle of infrastructure projects—in other words, bridging the gaps. I always enjoy attending AASHTO events because the agenda of the state transportation agencies, rather than competing with one another, is to share and advance together. In July, I also spoke at a Bentley-sponsored lunch gathering at a different AASHTO conference. This meeting revolved around bridges—literally. At the annual gathering, our discussion of the opportunities for improved project delivery through better information ﬂow drew an overﬂow crowd of state bridge engineers. In my presentation, I previewed Bentley’s initiative for bridge information modeling, which we’re calling BrIM. (Watch the video here.) From my vantage as Bentley CEO, I ﬁnd it fascinating to compare the progress of various software innovations across the building, plant, civil, and geospatial infrastructure domains. Each vertical from time to time advances faster in a particular respect, then another catches up and surpasses it. Those of you who participate in the building vertical are enthusiastically adopting building information modeling (BIM) to optimize design decisions and to enable advantageous reuse of AEC information, ultimately to support facility operations. Applying this strategy to bridge projects, BIM becomes BrIM. (See Bentley’s new Web pages here.) At Bentley, we have observed that among infrastructure expenditures, road and rail bridges consume a large proportion of global resources, but they have had comparatively little beneﬁt from IT innovations spanning the information lifecycle compared to other asset classes. Our response to this perceived opportunity has been twofold. First, many of our recent acquisitions have been focused on best-of-breed software functionality for bridge projects. I continue to welcome Bentley colleagues from these acquisitions whose industryleading domain knowledge in bridges we can now multiply through BrIM: s STAAD (Dec 2005): STAAD.Pro modules in Austria since 1970, TDV has become a world leader in comprehensive structural analysis and design software for bridges. The ﬂagship RM product line is used in more than 30 countries for conception and realization of all types of road and rail bridges, including many of the most challenging and recognizable. RM enables static and dynamic analysis of steel, concrete, and composite structures, incorporating 14 international design codes. RM modules address virtually every aspect of bridge design requirements. Now, through BrIM, Bentley will leverage intra-operations across this uniquely comprehensive product portfolio for more efﬁcient realization of new bridges and more cost-effective maintenance and upgrades of existing bridges. Everyone everywhere uses and relies upon bridges every day. But for infrastructure professionals, these structures comprise some of the most visible and compelling examples of our work. And through initiatives such as BrIM, I believe that Bentley can best help you on your own projects to reap the rewards of information/infrastructure bridges. are used for structural analysis of virtually all bridge types, with specialized analyses that include consideration of trafﬁc patterns. STAAD.foundation contributes to the design of footings, piers, and abutments. s KIWI Software (Jan 2007): ProSteel 3D modules are used for steel detailing of bridge projects (which can be modeled with Bentley Structural) and increasingly for direct-to-fabrication workﬂows. s C.W. Beilfuss (Feb 2007): Led by Chuck Beilfuss for more than 30 years, CWB has developed unique software and domain expertise in bridge rating and analysis. The Load Analysis and Rating System (LARS) interfaces with AASHTO’s databases and provides for interactive editing through CWB’s BridgeModeler. Most particularly, the CWB-developed SUPERLOAD system for over-dimensionedvehicle permitting and routing takes advantage of LARS for “live-load” analysis. The related GotPermits.com 64 BE MAGAZINE | Volume 4, Issue 3 http://www.asis2007.org/ http://stream.bentley.com/mediasite/viewer/?peid=6bc522f6-caac-41ba-a341-b47c61e02035 http://www.bentley.com/en-US/Markets/Civil/Bridge+Information+Modeling/Keys.htm http://GotPermits.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of BE Magazine - Volume 4, Issue 3

Contents Rising to the Challenge News BE Newsletter Highlights More ITS Sightings Racing Concrete Canoes Lights, Camera, Action! Making the Cut People’s Choice Awards 2007 Executive Keynotes Building Clear Vision of a Dream Concrete Results Reaching New Heights Building News From Bentley Golden KIWI Awards 2007 Civil A Coordination of National Highway Proportions Training Troops Beautifying Highways, One Sign at a Time Civil News From Bentley Geospatial Facility Facelift Planning for Uncertainty Geospatial News From Bentley MicroStation at the Heart of LiDAR Surveying Solutions Plant Making the Grade Data Deja Vu Data Clouds Provide Clear Visual of Underground Saving Precious-Metal Mining Time Plant News From Bentley Advertisers Index Special/Academic The Art of Visualization Training Is Key To Delivering State-of-the-Art Solutions Bridging the Information/Infrastructure Gap

BE Magazine - Volume 4, Issue 3

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